Unscheduled: Ameego’s blog forrestaurant people

Pursuing The Perfect Restaurant Schedule

I have so much respect for anyone who chooses to work in the restaurant industry.

We go to restaurants for first dates and wedding anniversaries, to unwind with friends and to catch the big game. And from the person who clears the tables to the person who signs the cheques, everyone is driven to serve.

These are people who get up early, work late and on weekends, miss family dinners – all in an effort to create an amazing experience for their guests.

The restaurant industry is where I started my career (bussing tables actually); it’s where I met my beautiful wife and most of my friends.

Every Ameego staff member has a background working with restaurants, and it’s the industry we’ve chosen to serve.

A few years ago, we spent time in focus groups and brainstorming sessions, zeroing in on exactly what Ameego’s ultimate focus needed to be in order to serve the restaurant industry beyond anyone’s expectations. We noticed a trend emerging from all the ideas: every idea we were most passionate about tied back to the employee schedule.

We all believe that a schedule isn’t just a piece of paper that sits on the wall in the back or lives in a spreadsheet on some computer:

The schedule is a playbook.

The weekly plan that can mean the difference between success and failure.

The schedule drives how much a restaurant will spend on labor in a week.

The schedule determines who will cook the steak for an anniversary dinner or pour the beer for the big game.

The schedule influences the work-life balance of every single employee – and the greatest asset of any restaurant is its people.

It’s hard enough to succeed in the restaurant industry without a great weekly schedule to keep costs in line and guests and staff happy. Profit margins are razor thin, food costs go up every year, negative social media reputation can cripple growth, and employee turnover is incredibly high. Market share is shrinking with so many competitors popping up, and restaurants are finding it harder and harder to differentiate themselves.

We believe there’s a right way and a wrong way to create schedules.

The right way saves restaurants more in labor dollars, translating to more profit so they can expand faster.

It means “aces are in their places,” ensuring that guests are more likely to have outstanding experiences.

No manager ever helped to increase sales while sitting in the back office for hours on end creating schedules.

We believe staff should have the ability to communicate with management about their schedules, and that management should be able to easily make scheduling adjustments on the fly.

We do what we do so restaurants can see higher profits and grow to serve more people.

We do what we do so restaurants can maximize their ability to deliver amazing guest experiences. We do what we do so that a restaurant’s greatest asset, its people, can strike the best balance between work and life, and stay connected more easily.

Over the years, Ameego has helped create thousands of schedules for restaurants all over the world.

This blog is about sharing what we’ve learned to help restaurants work towards creating their perfect schedule.